Oh Baby!
by beingbored
Summary: Merlin and Arthur have faced many threats together, both magical and nonmagical. However, when the citizens of Camelot have been cursed, can our heroes find the cause and reverse it before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello to all of you readers out there. Here is my first multi-chapter story for everyone to enjoy. It should be about five chapters, so nothing to long. I hope you all enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin. Perhaps in the next life.**

Merlin groaned as he opened his eyes. The sun was streaming into the small window, lighting up his room. Strange. The sun seemed awfully high for this time of year. Merlin thought to himself as he sat up and stretched. He walked over to the window and looked out, his eyes resting on the clock in the square. Merlin's eyes bulged as he realized that he was almost thirty minutes late for Arthur's breakfast. Merlin frantically ran about his room, trying to find clothes to wear. Luckily he only owned two shirts and two pairs of pants. It really helped narrow down his choices. He reached the red shirt first but threw it away quickly when he remembered he had mucked out the stables wearing it. The thing still smelled. Merlin really needed to do laundry more often. He finally found his blue shirt, red neckerchief, and jacket. Throwing those on Merlin picked up his shoes and attempted to pull them on while hopping down the stairs. Not really something someone so clumsy should be attempting. The door flew open and Merlin tumbled down into the main chamber where Giaus usually slept.

"Giaus!" Merlin cried out as he attempted to recover from the fall. "Why didn't you wake me? Prince Prat is going to kill me!" he groaned. He dusted himself off and looked around the room.

"Giaus?" he asked the empty room. Apparently his mentor wasn't in the room. The fire hadn't been started which meant Giaus had been gone for a long time. _There must have been an emergency that made him leave_. Merlin thought to himself. He dug through the cupboards in hopes of finding some food. Sadly, there was nothing for him to eat. Merlin shook his head and decided he would just have to eat later. Arthur was having breakfast with his father so Merlin wouldn't be able to grab any food from his master like he normally did on the days he skipped breakfast. It would be hard to ignore his aching stomach, but he would just have to deal. Merlin sighed. It was going to be a long day.

He bounded out of the room and into the castle hall. Despite it being so late in the morning, there was hardly anyone around the castle. This was good for Merlin as he didn't have to worry about running into people, as much. But it was still disconcerting that the normally busy and lively castle grounds were empty. It felt wrong. Merlin, however, didn't have time to worry about where everyone was. He sprinted across the courtyard, through the castle halls, and skidded to a stop in front of Arthur's door. The prince wouldn't be out of bed but he would certainly be awake and very aware that Merlin was late. Merlin took a deep breath and straightened his neckerchief, which had become off-center during his run. After he looked a tad more dignified Merlin pushed open the door and began his greeting.

"Good morning sire!" he called brightly as a pillow came soaring from the bed, straight at Merlin's face. Merlin sighed and with the flick of his wrist, stopped the pillow in midair.

"When will you learn?" Merlin asked in mock sadness. Arthur sat up and glared at the floating pillow.

"One: your late, and two: put the pillow down before someone sees." Another flash of gold in Merlin's eyes caused the pillow to drop at his feet.

"Do you know how much Giaus has been lecturing me about you using your magic openly!" Arthur said as he pulled the blankets over his head.

"Well good morning to you too," Merlin said under his breath. Arthur had found out about Merlin's magic about a month ago. They were hunting when bandits had attacked them. Arthur was outnumbered and the bandits were bent on murdering the two men. In an act of desperation Merlin caused all of the bandits to been blown off their feet and thrown against the trees. There was no hiding this from Arthur. Nor was there any logical, nonmagic, explanation as too why Merlin's eyes were glowing gold and why he was saying words of the Old Religion.

Merlin remembered how Arthur had simply grabbed his arm and dragged him back to Camelot. Merlin was sure he was going to be executed, he just hoped Arthur would let him say goodbye to Giaus and Gwen before the pyre was lit. However, when they returned to Camelot, Arthur didn't turn Merlin in. He instead told Merlin he didn't want to see him until he made up his mind about what to do. For almost a week Merlin stayed in the physician's chambers, not daring to try and convince Arthur he only wanted to help him.

Finally, Arthur came down to Giaus' and demanded that Merlin tell him everything. After several hours of Merlin describing all he had done for Arthur, Arthur just left the chambers. Merlin had a restless night. Images of his execution kept plaguing his mind. Giaus had tried to calm him, but Merlin's fear kept him awake. The next morning Arthur came bursting into Merlin's room demanding an explanation as to why his manservant was "lazing about" when he should be serving the prince.

To know that Arthur wasn't going to turn him in was almost to much for Merlin to handle. In an act of joy Merlin threw his arms around Arthur's neck and began continuously apologizing for lying to him. Arthur complained about the contact but made no move to push Merlin away. He instead wrapped one hand around Merlin's waist and began rubbing his back with the other. After awhile the two broke away and continued about as if nothing had happened. Arthur had kept Merlin's secret and had actually asked him questions about magic, how it worked, if everyone could do it or just certain people, and so much more. Merlin had started doing small feats of magic in front of Arthur. Both to get Arthur used to seeing it in action and to show him not all magic was harmful. Giaus, of course, was less than happy about these public shows and after a long talk with Arthur, had made him promise to keep Merlin from doing to much. In the end, Arthur and Merlin grew much closer together. They trusted each other more and the amount of secrets shared was almost none.

"Merlin," Arthur's annoyed voice snapped Merlin out of his thoughts, "why are you late?" Arthur was now sitting up in the bed, staring expectantly at Merlin.

"Giaus wasn't there this morning to wake me up," Merlin explained as he pulled Arthur out of the bed and dragged him to the changing screen to get dressed.

"For gods' sake Merlin, you are almost of age! You're telling me you can't get yourself up in the morning!" Arthur said as Merlin adjusted his collar before handing Arthur his boots.

"Well you are of age and you don't get yourself up," Merlin retorted.

"That's different!" Arthur gasped.

"Or dress yourself," Merlin continued.

"I am the crowned prince of Camelot. I don't need to be able to dress myself," Arthur crossed his arms and pouted. Merlin smiled at the sight of his prince looking much like a petulant child who was told that he couldn't have any sweets until after dinner.

"I pity your future wife," he chucked as he handed Arthur his jacket and followed the prince out the door.

"Whatever," Arthur said with a wave of his hand. "Do you remember the rules for being in the presence of my father?" he asked expectantly.

"We go over them every time!" Merlin cried out as he shut the bedroom door and jogged up to Arthur.

"And yet you still called Sir Roger an inbred ass," Arthur sighed.

"I still don't think your father heard it," Merlin snapped as the pair continued down the hall.

"Merlin," Arthur said while rolling his eyes.

"No speaking out of turn, no making you laugh, no mimicking your father when he's not looking, no spitting in his food-" Arthur stopped midstride, causing Merlin to run into his back.

"That isn't a rule," he said, turning to Merlin with an eyebrow raised.

"No, but I remind myself not too every time he goes on one of his 'magic is evil' rants," Merlin responded with a shrug. Arthur groaned and continued on his way to his father's room. Merlin's stomach growled.

"Let me guess," Arthur started, "you didn't eat breakfast."

"I didn't have time," Merlin cried as he attempted to ignore the hunger pains that were shooting through his abdomen. Arthur reached over to a passing servant and grabbed a piece of bread off the tray. The servant was about to protest before she realized that it was the prince. The girls mouth snapped shut and she continued on her way.

"Here," Arthur said, handing the bread to Merlin. "Eat this. I'm not going to have you passing out like a girl."

"Aw, you do care," Merlin teased as he took a bite of the bread.

"No, I just don't want to listen to your stomach and my father compete for attention this morning," Arthur responded angrily.

"Whatever you say, sire," Merlin smirked as he took another bite of the bread. They were passing one of the castle's many vaults when Arthur stopped short again. Merlin again ran into the prince.

"Arthur, can you give me more warning when you stop!" Merlin cried as he fell to the ground. Arthur cursed under his breath and looked around.

"Where are the guards?" he demanded.

"How should I know!" Merlin cried as he picked himself off of the ground and dusted his pants off.

"This is one of the vaults that holds the blueprints to the citadel. It has to be guarded at all times," Arthur said, waving his arms for effect.

"Ah, yes," Merlin said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, "I've been meaning to talk to you about the guards."

"What of them," Arthur stated as he looked around the corners for any signs of life.

"They are horrible at their jobs. How else do you think I commit so many illegal acts without getting caught," Merlin looked up, Arthur wasn't really paying attention. Merlin shrugged his shoulders and continued. "They're easily distracted, they're stupid," Merlin continued to count the reasons on his fingers.

"Hey," Arthur called out suddenly, causing Merlin to jump, "Come here!" Arthur commanded. Merlin looked around to see a young guard come running down the hallway to Arthur.

"Yes, m'lord," the guard said shyly. He looked to be in his early twenties. He was probably new to the job and was not quite used to having the prince and king command him.

"Are you on duty now?" Arthur asked. The man shook his head no.

"Good, stand here, in front of this door, and guard it until I dismiss you or one o'clock," Arthur was about to walk away until he saw confusion on the man's face. "Which ever comes first," he added as he turned and motioned for Merlin to follow him.

"When I find out who was supposed to be on duty they will be in the stocks for a month," Arthur growled under his breath as they continued through the castle. The pair was almost to Uther's chambers when a voice rang out through the halls.

"Are you being mean to Merlin again?" Morgana's voice called out playfully. Arthur turned to see Morgana and Gwen making their way through the hall.

"I am not being mean to Merlin. Right Merlin?" he responded.

"He's being awful. I think I should quit," Merlin replied, making his eyes large and innocent.

"I am not! Quit lying!" Arthur snapped.

"Well I think Merlin is much more convincing. What do you think Gwen?" Morgana said teasingly, turning to her maidservant. Gwen giggled before responding.

"Merlin's sweet and kind. I think we should go with his story," she said.

"Yes well if Merlin would stop being such a girl then I wouldn't have to be mean too him," Arthur said as Morgana matched his stride.

"Well at least Merlin actually cares about people!" Morgana snapped as her and Arthur started their usual bickering.

"Do they ever stop arguing," Merlin asked with the shake of his head.

"Never," Gwen responded fondly.

"How long do you think we'll have to sit through this breakfast?" Morgana asked Arthur, effectively ending the argument until further notice.

"Well let's see. Father will probably rant about the evils of magic for thirty minutes, dote or argue with you for twenty, and then let's add in fifteen for miscellaneous topics," Arthur said tallying up the time.

"So about an hour," Morgana shook her head sadly.

"If you two just agree with everything the king says, you might be out of there in 45," Merlin said. Arthur reached back and cuffed Merlin on the head just as the group stopped in front of the king's chambers.

"Merlin, go announce us and remember the rules," Arthur stated as he and Morgana straightened out their clothes. Merlin bowed mockingly to Arthur before knocking on the door. When there was not response Merlin knocked on the door again.

"Go in and see if he's up," Arthur said quietly. Merlin nodded and slowly entered the room.

"Sire?" he asked quietly as he poked his head into the room. He looked around before stepping back out into the hallway.

"It's empty," he explained to Arthur and Morgana.

"What? That can't be," Arthur murmured as he stepped into the room. "Father?" he asked. Merlin stepped back into the room. It did appear that the king was not in his chambers. Arthur stepped out and looked around. His eyes landed on a young serving boy who was stepping out of an adjacent room with a bucket and washcloth.

"You there!" he called, causing the boy to jump. "Have you seen the king?" Arthur continued, this time more gently.

"No-o-o sire," the boy stuttered. "I haven't seen him yet today."

"How long have you been here?" Morgana asked soothingly.

"Been cl-l-eaning the floors for about two hours, m'lady," he responded with a bow.

"Thank you," Arthur stated. "Continue your job." The group looked at each other before stepping into the room. If the king hadn't been seen at all this morning, that could be a bad sign.

"Search the room, make sure he's not anywhere," Arthur commanded as he stepped into the antechamber. Gwen and Morgana began opening up the cupboards and closets to ensure he hadn't been stuffed in there during an attack. Merlin went to the bed and looked under it. After several minutes it became clear that the king wasn't in his room. Arthur was now really worried. His father had never missed a meal before with his son and ward unless it was urgent. These were the times that he could focus his attention on the two and not be distracted by matters of state or propriety. This was the time that he could be a father and not a king. Arthur sank down into a chair. Morgana patted his shoulder soothingly. Merlin was leaning against the bedpost, wondering what could have happened to the king when he heard a noise from the bed.

Merlin furrowed his brows and looked at the covers. Carefully, he pulled them back. Whatever Merlin was expecting was not what he saw. He gasped, causing the others to jump.

"What is it Merlin?" Arthur asked as he rushed over to him.

"I think I just found your father," Merlin said numbly. Arthur followed Merlin's eyes down to what had gotten his attention and gasped as well.

"Today is going to be a long day," Arthur said, staring at Uther. Except, Uther wasn't Uther.

**I love writing cliffhangers. I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's and continue to read this. Critique is always welcome as I do wish to improve my writing. I will try to do one chapter a week but life might get in the way. See you all next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**So I decided to be nice and post another chapter. Actually I have no self-control and already had this chapter typed. Hope you enjoy the next chapter. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorite, and followed.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin. Does anyone on this site?**

_"Today is going to be a long day," Arthur said, staring at Uther. Except, Uther wasn't Uther._

Morgana stood up at Arthur's comment and waltzed over to the bed, followed closely by Gwen.

"This can't be my father," Arthur said, not to anyone in particular. He sounded as though he was in a trace. The information was clearly too much for him to process.

"Well, he is in the bed," Merlin said as Morgana and Gwen both gasped at the site.

"This _cannot _be my father," Arthur repeated again. "It's impossible."

"He is wearing his bedclothes so it is the only logical conclusion," Merlin replied, looking at Morgana's dropped jaw. He knew Arthur wasn't really hearing him. But maybe if he kept talking Arthur would come to terms with the situation.

"My father is a grown man," Arthur replied, closing his eyes and coming out of his trance. Looked like Merlin's plan worked. "This is not my father!" Arthur cried again. Maybe he was still in his trance. Merlin looked down at the bed and tried to come up with another possible conclusion as too who was on the bed. None came.

"It has to be Uther."

"MY FATHER IS NOT A TODDLER!" Arthur shouted, finally coming to terms with the situation. Sadly, this woke the child up and he immediately began to wail.

"Now see what you've done!" Morgana snapped as she bent down and picked up the child, cradling him in her arms.

"Actually based on the size, I think he's closer to six months," Merlin tried to add. Arthur massaged the bridge of his nose as Morgana and Gwen continued to console the baby.

"Merlin," Arthur started, "I don't care if it is newborn or three years old. This cannot be my father!" Arthur finished, waving his arms in the air to add effect.

"And why not?" Gwen asked as the crying finally died down.

"Because!" Arthur cried, motioning to the baby who was nestled in Morgana's arms. "Because he just can't be!" Arthur finished weakly.

"Maybe it's not Uther," Merlin thought out loud. "Maybe last night someone snuck in his room and kidnapped him!" Merlin finished. Everyone looked up at him with eyebrows raised.

"And left a baby?" Gwen asked.

"Why not?" Merlin answered.

"Merlin," Arthur said in his you're-an-idiot voice, "why the hell would someone kidnap my father and leave a baby?" He then collapsed onto the bed and began to scream into the pillow.

"Well it could happed," Merlin snapped. Arthur sat up.

"This cannot be happening," he groaned. "My father needs to run a kingdom. He can't do that if he can't even sit up." Everyone just looked at the baby, trying to come up with a solution.

"Giaus!" Merlin shouted after several seconds, causing everyone to jump. "We can take Uther to Giaus and see if he can do something about it," he explained.

"I thought you said Giaus wasn't there this morning?" Arthur asked. Although he sounded annoyed, he actually looked slightly happier at the idea. Perhaps this would be resolved quickly.

"You and Morgana can wait in his chambers while Gwen and I search the town for him," Merlin added.

"It's the best plan we got at the moment," Morgana said with the shake of her head.

"We can't let anyone know about this. It will only spread panic," Arthur added. The thought that a magic user had effectively attacked the king would cause the citizens of Camelot to go crazy. If they were going to keep order, they couldn't tell anyone about the situation. The more people that knew, the more chance there was of it getting out.

"Let's go," Merlin said cheerfully as he made his way to the door. He poked his head outside to make sure no one was around before motioning the others to come out. Luckily, Baby Uther had fallen asleep and wasn't being noisy. Merlin thought he looked kind of cute as a baby. Not at all like a tyrant against magic. Still, what would be the point of turning the king into a baby and then leaving him in his chambers? Maybe Giaus could provide an answer.

The trio continued down the hall a bit longer, the castle was still oddly empty. They were about to turn down another hall when someone called out.

"Sire!" Arthur groaned. Now was not the time for small talk. He had to get his father out of sight immediately. He reluctantly turned around to see two of his knights, Sir Lucas and Sir Timothy, jogging towards him.

"Good thing we found you," Sir Lucas said. His eyes landed on the baby in Morgana's arms. He raised an eyebrow but asked no questions. He had been a knight of Camelot for almost five years now, he knew better than to ask questions.

"I hope this is good, I don't have a lot of time to talk," Arthur snapped unintentionally.

"I see that," Sir Lucas said, taking his eyes off the baby. "We just wanted to let you know that Sir Kay didn't show up for training this morning."

"But he was supposed to lead the exercises!" Arthur exclaimed.

"Arthur, we have bigger fish to fry at the moment," Merlin said, motioning to the baby. Sir Timothy looked outraged at the blatant display of equality the servant was showing towards the prince. He said nothing though as Prince Arthur responded.

"Sir Lucas, you lead the training today. If you find Sir Kay make sure he reports to me immediately for punishment," Arthur said as he turned and continued to the physician's chambers.

"Yes, sire," Sir Lucas responded with a bow. He and Sir Timothy started back towards the training field.

"Why does he allow his servant to speak like that? And why was the Lady Morgana carrying a baby?" Sir Timothy asked after the prince was out of earshot. Sir Lucas chuckled.

"You've only been in Camelot two weeks," he said.

"Yes, what does that have to do with anything?"

"You'll learn very quickly that Merlin is more like an advisor than a servant. And when it comes to those four, it's best to just not ask," Sir Lucas responded, stepping out onto the field. "In fact, they're probably the cause of 90% of the problems we have here," he finished, smiling at Sir Timothy.

"I guess I'm not home anymore," he said to himself.

"Welcome to Camelot, time to lose your mind," the older knight laughed, throwing an arm around Sir Timothy's shoulders and steering him to the other waiting knights.

Merlin opened the door to the physician's chambers and stepped inside. He looked around and was disappointed to see it still was empty. He had hoped Giaus would be back from whatever errand he had run earlier that morning. It seemed as though Merlin would have no such luck.

"Wait here, Gwen and I will start looking through the town" he said as Arthur, Morgana, and Gwen filed into the small room.

"Merlin it's freezing in here," Arthur exclaimed as he went to sit on the bench.

"Yeah, I didn't have time to start the fire this morning. Give me a second," he replied, walking over to the fire place and starting the fire. Arthur muttered something under his breath about Merlin freezing. Everyone pretended they didn't hear it, although both Morgana and Gwen smiled knowingly.

"Alright, Gwen are you ready?" Merlin asked as he stood up.

"Yup, I can take the East side if you want to take the West," she said, moving towards the door. Merlin was about to answer when he heard a sound. He walked carefully over to the bed.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked. "You know to search the town you have to actually exit the room?" But Merlin wasn't paying any attention. He instead pulled backed the covers and groaned.

"I found Giaus." The others stood up and walked over to the bed.

"Great," Arthur laughed, "just great!" he cried as he sank back onto the bench and began banging his head onto the table. "Our," bang, "physician," bang, "is," bang, "a," bang, "baby!" bang. Merlin sighed and placed a pillow on the table so that the prince wouldn't give himself a concussion.

"That's two people now," Gwen said softly. She bent down and picked up Giaus, making sure he wouldn't start crying like Uther had.

"He was supposed to be the one to give us an answer!" Arthur sobbed, his voice muffled by the pillow. "Now what do we do?" That was a good question. They needed to get Uther back to his original form. But that wouldn't be possible without Giaus. Arthur didn't want to cause a panic among the citizens of Camelot, but they couldn't just sit here and do nothing. Merlin was about to voice his concerns when the door to the chambers burst open.

"Now what?" Arthur cried as he threw his hands up in the air and slammed his face back in his pillow.

"GIAUS!" a woman's voice called out. Merlin turned to see Lady Ruth, Sir Kay's wife, standing at the door looking hysterical. She had a small bundle in her arms. Merlin walked over to try and calm the woman before she woke up Giaus and Uther.

"Giaus isn't here right now," Merlin said calmly, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder. "What's the matter?"

"I woke up this morning," Lady Ruth hiccupped, "and I was getting ready to do some shopping when I heard a baby crying!" she shifted her arms to reveal a baby fast asleep in a blanket.

"Is that your husband?" Merlin asked steadily, hoping the answer was no.

"I don't know! It was wearing his bedclothes though!" Lady Ruth cried out, beginning to sob again. Merlin quickly took the baby from her arms to keep her from dropping him. Lady Ruth suddenly stopped crying before looking at Merlin. Luckily, Arthur's reflexes were much faster as he saw what was going to happen, and leapt up in time to catch the lady as she fainted. He gently lowered Lady Ruth to the floor and looked at the bundle in Merlin's hands.

"Call a council meeting," was all Arthur said before rushing out of the room. The other three looked at each other, shrugged, and followed. They still had the babies in their hands.

"Prince Arthur, what is the meaning of this?" Sir Matthew snapped as he and a few other men filed into the room. Arthur looked around at the three other faces in the room.

"Where's the rest of the council?" he asked, turning to Lord Henry.

"This is all that we could find," Sir Lucas responded.

"That means they must have been affected too," Arthur muttered to himself. It appeared as though Uther, Giaus, and Sir Kay were not the only people affected by this strange curse.

"What were they affected with?" Lord Henry asked. He was fairly new to the courts of Camelot. He was the youngest son of a lord who was closer to the borders. In an effort to help gain insight as to how people in outlying villages were faring, Uther requested Lord Henry come and serve at his court as an advisor. He, Sir Lucas, and Sir Matthew were the youngest members of the court. They were all capable men, but Arthur was hoping for some of the elder members' insight. Lord Geoffrey knew almost as much on magic as Giaus did. Sir Michael was one of the oldest knights to still serve Uther and had his share of curses. It seemed as though all of the older members would be more capable to deal with this situation. But Arthur had to work with what he had. Arthur cleared his throat and began to explain.

"Earlier this morning the Lady Morgana, her maidservant, my manservant, and I discovered that my father had been," Arthur paused, looking for the right words, "de-aged to a six month old child." The three men gasped as Arthur waited for the information to sink in. After a few moments he continued.

"In an effort to keep panic to a minimum we took my father to Giaus, hoping he would have an answer. However, it was discovered that he too had been de-aged." The three council members all stared in shock at what the prince was saying. How could two such important members of Camelot be so easily turned into babies. Arthur didn't wait as long for this information to sink in. The prince finished his explanation quickly so that options for damage control and possible solutions could be explored.

"We then discovered through Sir Kay's wife that he too had been turned into a baby meaning that three court members are infants."

"Possibly more," Lord Henry added thoughtfully. The other members nodded in agreement.

"It appears that the sorcerer is targeting the court members," Sir Lucas said aloud.

"Yes, it appears so," Arthur replied, glancing at Merlin. He knew it was only a matter of time before the other men began ranting about the evils of magic. Arthur didn't know how Merlin could remain so calm when men who were supposed to protect him were attacking his very essence. The first 'magic is evil' rant Uther gave Arthur after his discovery of Merlin had been almost too much for the young prince to handle. Hearing his father call Merlin (well not Merlin but ever time sorcerer was used Arthur heard Merlin in its place) evil, Arthur had to bite his tongue to keep from arguing.

"This is why we should crack down on magic users!" Sir Matthew exclaimed. Arthur prepared himself for the anti-magic talk that was about to follow. Merlin too had begun to prepare himself from the very beginning. He knew it was only a matter of time before the evils of magic were discussed. Couldn't these nobles talk about the solution to the problem and not the cause? Then again, that might be too much to ask for Uther Era noblemen.

Merlin sighed and leaned against the pillar, effectively ignoring the rants that were going on. It did appear that only upper-class members were being affected by the spell. Perhaps it was only for certain court members. Merlin wondered if these members had a particular part to play in the Great Purge. He knew Giaus and Uther both played a significant part, but Sir Kay was only 28 years old. Surely he didn't play a large part since he was a child during the era. Merlin continued to think about all of the reasons someone could have for turning the court members into babies when the door burst open. The members of the court stopped and looked up.

"What is the meaning of this!" Sir Matthew cried as everyone looked upon the intruder. It was the boy from earlier this morning, Merlin realized. He was about seven or eight years old. He was rather skinny and pale, with bright blue eyes and messy blond hair. Merlin inwardly groaned as he realized the boy was holding a small bundle. Sir Lucas made his way over to the boy with Merlin close behind.

"What do you need child?" Sir Lucas said, kneeling down so he was eye level with the boy. The boy looked up at Merlin with tears in his eyes.

"It's okay, you can tell us what's the matter," Merlin assured him.

"What's your name?" Sir Lucas asked gently.

"Marcus, sir," the boy responded.

"Marcus," Merlin said quietly, "what's the matter?" Marcus took a few deep breaths before speaking again.

"Well after I finished my job in the castle, I went to see my mother. You see sirs, it's my birthday and I wanted to see if I could buy some sweets from the market place," tears started to leak from Marcus' eyes as he sniffed and continued the tale. "When I got to my house, I heard a baby crying and well," Marcus didn't have to finish his story. Merlin already knew what the boy was holding in his arms. Sir Lucas felt the need to clarify anyways.

"Marcus, is that your mother?" he inquired softly. Marcus just nodded. Merlin sighed and turned to face the council, which was waiting patiently to find out why they were interrupted. Well, Sir Matthew wasn't being very patient, but Merlin was used to that.

"Arthur," Merlin started, "this isn't just affect upper-class citizens, or men." Arthur closed his eyes and sank down into his chair. After several moments of silence, save Marcus' occasional sniffling, he opened his eyes and spoke.

"As of this moment, Camelot is in a state of emergency," Arthur stated authoritatively. "You are to gather everyone in the square. Have the knights go door to door and collect all of the babies and bring them to the square as well. I want this done in two hours," Arthur finished, standing up and making his way to the door.

"Yes, sire," Lord Henry and Sir Lucas said in unison. Merlin turned back to Marcus and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll find a way to fix this," Merlin assured the boy. "Go to the Lady Morgana so that she can help you take care of your mother." Marcus nodded and made his way through the door. Merlin looked at Arthur. Arthur was just standing at the door, waiting for the other members to leave. Once Sir Matthew had left he turned to Merlin.

"We need to find a cure and quick." Merlin just nodded before following the prince out the door, preparing to calm the citizens of Camelot and find a way to reverse the aging process.

**Happy New Year to all! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you guys thought would happen. I always have these visions of what's going to happen whenever I read or watch any form of fiction. It's fun to see how close one actually gets to the storyline. I hope you are hooked to my fiction. Have a great night.**


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter got kind of long so I separated it out into two parts. Thank to the reviewers and I hope you guys enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin. **

_"We need to find a cure and quick." Merlin just nodded before following the prince out the door, preparing to calm the citizens of Camelot and find a way to reverse the aging process._

"Let's first stop by our big friend," Merlin suggested to Arthur as they made their way through the corridors. Technically, no one was really around, so Merlin could have just said 'Great Dragon'. But he couldn't risk someone overhearing. It would be difficult for Arthur to explain why he and his manservant were visiting a giant, scaly, fire breathing monster that was chained underneath Camelot. Arthur shook his head.

"I don't want to see that thing," he murmured as the pair made their way back to the prince's room.

"He might have an answer," Merlin pleaded with the stubborn prat. "Besides, we have two hours. It won't hurt anything to visit him," he finished. Arthur sighed and began an internal debate. He didn't trust the dragon completely. It was true the creature helped him and Merlin many times. But Arthur couldn't shake the feeling that he was just using Merlin. Merlin, of course, trusted the damn thing with his life. He hardly ever questioned the dragon's ulterior motives. On the other hand, Arthur couldn't let his kingdom stay like this forever. If the dragon could provide an answer quickly, then he might still be able to keep his kingdom from descending into chaos. Of course any magical solutions would have to be explained. But they could be dealt with. Finally, he made up his mind.

"Let's get this over with," Arthur mumbled, turning on his heels and heading for the cave. Merlin smiled and matched his stride with Arthur's. He knew of Arthur's distrust. However, the dragon was the most knowledgeable creature to help with the magical problems of Camelot. Merlin really didn't have very many options besides going to the Great Dragon for help.

After a few minutes the two men made their way to the top of the cave. It appeared that a lot of people were being affected by the curse, as the usual guards were nowhere to be seen. Of course, upon Merlin's reveal of the guards' substandard practices, Arthur wasn't really sure if they were gone because of a curse, or because they were simply lazy. The missing guards didn't deter Merlin as he quickly lit a torch and began making his way down the steps. Arthur sighed and followed close behind. He still thought it was a bad idea to put so much trust in the stupid thing. But, he figured as long as he was looking out for Merlin, he could keep him from being taken advantage of.

Arthur stepped off the final stair and the little ledge in the opening of the cavern. He always loved this place. Despite the fact that it held a fire breathing monster, it really was an awe-inspiring sight. The large cavern with magnificent stalagmites and stalactites hanging from every angle. The way it was always the same temperature, no matter what the season. The fact that its size rivaled the citadel itself. It always impressed Arthur.

They waited for a few seconds before the beating of wings could be heard. The noise was quickly replaced with the sight of the Great Dragon. Arthur grimaced as the thing landed on its rock and stared intently at the two. He always felt so small when it came to the beast. Small was not a feeling Arthur enjoyed. Merlin, however, never seemed undeterred by the beast's massive size. It was always business when he came down for visits. No time to feel tiny and helpless.

"We need your help!" Merlin shouted at the dragon. Arthur wondered if the shouting was really necessary. Certainly such a 'Great Dragon' would have good hearing. When he had brought it up the first time Merlin brought him down, Merlin just insisted it was necessary. Although, Merlin was plenty loud on his own and didn't need any reason to be louder.

"I figured as much, young warlock," the dragon replied.

"Just promise you won't laugh," Merlin said awkwardly. Arthur snorted. The dragon always seemed to laugh at their misfortunes. He also had some deep-seated hatred for Arthur's father. Arthur couldn't really hold too much of a grudge with the thing. After all, Uther had tricked him into eternal imprisonment. Arthur would have been pissed off as well. The dragon didn't respond to Merlin's plea, though Arthur could feel it trying to come up with all of the things that could have possibly happened since the last time they were down here. Sadly, that was only about a week ago. Camelot attracted magic and evil like flies to honey. It was embarrassing really. Merlin cleared his throat and continued.

"Well, an anti-aging spell has fallen over Camelot," Merlin paused and waited for the information to sink in. "We need your help to break it," he added. Arthur was about to add all of the information Merlin had left out, except there wasn't really anything to add. It was then that Arthur realized the extent of their situation. They had no idea what this curse entailed, who was affected and who wasn't, or even if everyone was affected the same way. If Sir Scales was able to help them, it would be a miracle.

"Is that all you know?" he asked. Arthur swore the dragon was raising an eyebrow. But did dragons have eyebrows? Maybe he was spending too much time with Gaius.

"Sorry," Merlin mumbled.

"I to, am sorry, young warlock. Without more information I cannot possibly know of a way to help you." The dragon sounded really sincere, but Arthur still wondered if he just didn't want to help Merlin.

"So there's nothing you can do?" Merlin asked, looking up at the beast.

"More information is required. Aging spells are tricky," the dragon explained, bowing his head.

"Sorry for wasting your time," Arthur stated coldly. "Come on, Merlin," he said, motioning for his servant to follow.

"Thanks anyways," Merlin said to the dragon before waving goodbye and making his way back up the stairs.

"Now what?" Merlin asked Arthur as they entered back into the corridor and started heading towards Arthur's chambers.

"I address the people, and delegate jobs to everyone," Arthur stated. He wished the dragon had more information for them. But it appeared for the time being, he and Merlin were on their own. They entered Arthur's chambers to find Morgana, Gwen, Lady Ruth, and Marcus all there, along with the babies.

"Why aren't you in Gaius' chambers?" Arthur asked as he made his way over to the desk and began drafting ideas that would keep Camelot functioning.

"We heard you were gathering everyone in the courtyard and wanted to be closer when it was time for you to address the people," Morgana explained as she bounced one of the babies on her knee.

"How much longer?" Arthur asked as he crumpled a piece of paper and threw it in the corner.

"A little under an hour and a half," Gwen replied.

"Though people are already starting to gather," Lady Ruth stated. She looked better. Some color had returned to her face and she was no longer hysterical. Arthur nodded his understanding and continued to draft plans. Finally, two hours had passed. Too Merlin, it felt like an eternity before the clock struck. Every five minutes he would look out the window to see the clock hands had barely moved. Arthur had the opposite problem. Two hours had passed too quickly for him. With the help of everyone in the room, he had drafted a plan. However, he felt unprepared for what he was about to tell his people. He also felt as though the plan was rushed, and only a temporary solution. Still, it gave him enough time to try to find the cause before too much damage was done. Arthur took a deep breath before standing up and making his way to the door, followed by Merlin, Marcus, and the women.

Arthur's chest continued to tighten as he made his way out to the balcony to speak to his people. He was suffocating. The presence of his friends helped, but he was still frightened about the people's reactions. He stepped into the open and took in the sight. It appeared as though less than half of the population was at their normal age. His throat constricted as he looked upon the masses gathered below. Most were holding babies, much like the women and Merlin (he had taken Marcus' mother so that Marcus wouldn't drop her). Most looked terrified. There were several children who were confused. They were too young to really understand what was going on. To make matters worse, many of them were holding small bundles of what were probably babies. Arthur waited a few minutes for the crowd to quiet before speaking.

"Many of you are aware of the situation at hand," he said, all previous nerves replaced with a sense of duty. "I am sorry to inform you that a curse appears to have been placed on Camelot," this elicited gasps from the audience below. Still, Arthur pressed forward. "As of this moment, we know very little about the situation. Because of this, we cannot act safely to restore the affected parties," Arthur was surprised at how authoritative he sounded. Not at all scared. Hopefully it would continue.

"I have gathered you all here because we cannot face this alone. You have probably noticed there are younger children who are in need of care. We have also lost a great portion of our army to this curse. If Camelot is to remain strong, we must stand together to try to figure out what is going on," Arthur swallowed and looked to Merlin. Merlin gave him a reassuring smile. This gave Arthur the courage to finish his commands.

"I have come up with a plan. If we are to deal with this sufficiently and quickly, we must all play a part," the people nodded at their understanding of the situation.

"All of the babies are to be brought to the throne room. There, I will need the majority of the women to stay behind to help the Lady Morgana," Morgana stepped forward and stood next to Arthur, "to take care of the babies. If it is your job to take care of children this young, I want you to be assigned first. Next, the children two years old to ten years old will go with Guinevere," Arthur motioned to Gwen so the people would recognize her. "I will need some women to stay and help her take care of them. I also want every knight, squire, and soldier to come to me for assignment. Even if it is your day off we need to protect this kingdom. I also want anyone who has ever fought with a sword to also meet with me. As of this moment you are a soldier.

"I would like those who can read and are not yet assigned to report to Merlin down in the library. Your job will be to try to figure out what this curse is, and if there is any way to reverse it. Finally, if you do not fit into any of these categories, you will be helping the palace staff to ensure that everyone is fed and clothed.

"Some of you will be reassigned as necessary but for now, these are your jobs. We will do everything in our power to ensure this curse is lifted, and everyone is returned to normal. Thank you," Arthur finished and made his way back into the corridor, trying not to fall over.

"That was very good," Merlin assured Arthur as the prince collapsed on a nearby chair.

"I don't know how my father does it," he said to no one in particular.

"Lots of mead before hand?" Merlin joked. It was nice to know that even in such dire circumstance, Merlin could still keep his humor. Arthur's thoughts were interrupted by a tug on his shirt sleeve. He looked down to see Marcus.

"I know you want me to go with Lady Guinevere," Gwen blushed at the title, "but can I help Merlin?" he asked timidly.

"How would you help him?" Arthur asked. He really didn't want to put anymore strain on Merlin than what was necessary.

"I can read and write some. I can also do lots of things. My mother says that I should never sit by and do nothing while others are working hard," Marcus explained. Arthur sighed.

"Your mother is a very smart woman," he stated. Arthur was trying to find a way to let the boy down gently. Perhaps he could help Gwen instead. Before Arthur had a chance to suggest it, Merlin spoke up.

"I could use your help," he said with a smile. Arthur hoped the boy wouldn't hinder Merlin too much. Merlin had the need to make everyone happy. It was a curse that Arthur had learned to deal with. Now that Merlin had spoken though, there was no way Arthur could reassign Marcus.

"Thank you! I'll be good and do everything you say. Promise!" Marcus stated happily as he and Merlin made their way to the library.

"I better go to the throne room," Morgana said as she walked away, followed closely by Gwen and Lady Ruth. At some point Merlin had transferred his baby to Gwen. Arthur sat in the corridor for a few more minutes before Sir Lucas and Sir Matthew walked up to him.

"Are you ready to take charge, sire?" Sir Lucas asked. That was a really good question. One Arthur wasn't sure he wanted to answer.

**Arthur is really taking charge here, isn't he? I don't know why, but I always see him as overly cautious when it comes to the dragon. Merlin never seems to worry about what the dragon wants. But someone has to. Have a great rest of the week.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hooray for updates! I'm really pleased with the response this story has gotten. I'm glad you all enjoy it and it was fun to write. Have a great rest of the week.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin. What a shock.**

_"Are you ready to take charge, sire?" Sir Lucas asked. That was a really good question. One Arthur wasn't sure he wanted to answer._

Sir Lucas led Arthur out into the courtyard, where the men were waiting for their orders. Quickly, Arthur forced down any thoughts of fear and put on a brave face. Being the regent of Camelot was much harder than being the prince of Camelot. The people expected him to be all-powerful, to come up with solutions quickly. Right now, Arthur just felt helpless. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Sir Matthew cleared his throat.

"Sire," he stated haughtily. Arthur knew what was coming before the knight had a chance to speak. "I do not question that you only have the best intentions for this kingdom." Arthur was fighting the urge to punch Sir Matthew in the throat. "However, I feel that putting your servant in charge of the research isn't a smart move."

"Sir Matthew," Sir Lucas hissed through gritted teeth. Arthur put up a hand to silence the knight. He knew that people would question his move to put Merlin in charge of something so delicate. Especially since Arthur was constantly complaining about how incompetent Merlin was. Perhaps he should lay off the insults, at least when talking with his fellow knights. Because of his foresight to deal with such questions, he was able to prepare a good defense for Merlin.

"Merlin may be a servant, but he is also Gaius' apprentice. Given this position he knows more about magic than most of us could ever hope to," Sir Matthew looked taken aback. Arthur paid no heed to the man and continued.

"He and Gaius are both incredibly knowledgeable in the way magic works. He also spends a great deal of time in the library so he will be able to find the information quicker than anyone else," Arthur stated coldly, turning to face the knight.

"I appreciate your concern, but I also will do whatever I see fit. If I have concerns, I will ask you. If you have concerns, they will be brought to me in the proper manner," Arthur finished his speech and turned to address his men. He didn't need them to hear about how one of his most trusted advisors was questioning his calls. Arthur trusted Merlin with this job. He knew that Merlin would work day and night until he found a cure.

"Let it be, Sir Matthew," Sir Lucas scolded quietly as he began to direct some of the guards to more important rooms of the castle. Sir Matthew crossed his arms and continued to question why the prince placed more trust in a lowly servant than his own men. No apparent answer found him.

Arthur had successfully reassigned the majority of his men to important posts. Knights where now guarding the gates, soldiers were patrolling more often, and a great deal of peasants were given weapons and armor. Now, Arthur needed to check on Morgana, Gwen, and Merlin. He needed to make sure everything was still going smoothly. He was about to turn away when Lord Henry came running up.

"What's wrong? Has Merlin found something?" Arthur asked. Because Lord Henry was a learned man, he had opted to help Merlin down in the library. If Merlin had already found a cure, then this crisis was going to be better than Arthur originally thought.

"No, sire," he panted. Arthur motioned for Sir Lucas and Sir Matthew to stay a few moments longer. After Lord Henry had caught his breath, he stood up and spoke.

"I just remembered, sire. Queen Lucinda is going to be here in three days." Arthur cursed under his breath. In the events of the morning, Arthur had completely forgotten that Queen Lucinda was coming to Camelot to draft a trading agreement. She was known throughout the five kingdoms to be incredibly choosy about who she exchanged goods with. If one thing was out of place in Camelot, the trade agreement would be off. Arthur could not allow that to happen. He was really hoping that Merlin could find a cure for the curse by the end of today, or possibly sometime tomorrow. However, Queen Lucinda was known to be early, often throwing kingdoms into chaos as they struggled to impress her. Arthur had to come up with a way to keep her from Camelot. If she saw the state it was in, Arthur couldn't even fathom what would happen.

"Call over Sir Timothy," Arthur stated after a few minutes. He had created a plan. He had no idea if it would work or no, but it was a plan. Sir Lucas returned quickly with Sir Timothy.

"I know you have your duties, however, due to unfortunate circumstances you will need to be reassigned," Arthur paused, trying to think of how best to explain his plan. Finally, he spoke.

"Sir Timothy, Sir Matthew," the two knights snapped to attention upon hearing their names, "You will travel with haste to meet with the queen's traveling party. You will then proceed to show her around the outlying villages. Keep her away from Camelot for as long as possible."

"What if she decides to return?" Sir Timothy asked.

"Then you will ride to Camelot and warn me so that I have time to prepare for her arrival," Arthur responded. "Do you understand your instructions?" Both men nodded before turning and making their way to the stables.

"She'll suspect something is up," Sir Matthew said.

"I know. Hopefully it won't convince her to cancel the treaty," Arthur responded.

"Return to Merlin," Arthur commanded Lord Henry. He bowed and ran back to the library. "Come, Sir Matthew. We need to see how the others are fairing," Arthur said, making his way to the throne room.

It was quieter than Arthur expected. He assumed that the majority of the babies would be bawling. However, only a few were crying. He looked over the sight. Hundreds of tiny children were laid in rows with women rushing about. It was a miracle no child was stepped on. They seemed to have a pretty well organized system. Arthur smiled at Morgana's efficiency. He stopped a young maid who was walking around the room with a baby in her arms.

"My lady," Arthur said, placing a hand on her arm. The woman turned and curtseyed as best as she could. "Where is the Lady Morgana?" he asked. He wanted to make sure Morgana was handling her new job well.

"She went down to the kitchen to see if they had more milk for the children," the maid said as she bounced the baby in her arms.

"Is everything running smoothly?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, it's actually going much better than I thought," the girl smiled, she did seem genuinely relieved. Arthur was so used to people lying to him, that he had developed a knack for sensing when someone was being untruthful.

"Are you in need of anything?"

"No, sire. Lady Morgana has all of the jobs delegated out. She's even planned breaks for us," the girl continued to smile, except this time it masked worry. Arthur saw it in her eyes.

"What is the matter? Speak your mind," Arthur commanded gently.

"Sire!" Sir Matthew chocked out. Arthur rolled his eyes. He had almost forgotten about the knight's presence.

"I'm sorry m'lord, but I fear we can't keep this up for very long," the woman answered, the smile completely gone from her face.

"What do you mean?" Arthur said quickly, cutting off any words Sir Matthew was about to say.  
"Babies take a lot of care. They eat constantly. We may be able to keep them comfortable for a while. But eventually, we won't be able to take care of them all. Not when over half of the population is this young."

"How long before this happens?" Arthur asked. If the threat was bigger than he suspected, he might need to assign more people to help Merlin. The girl shrugged.

"Two weeks to a month. Not much longer," she said.

"We will do everything in our power to ensure that this is resolved quickly," Arthur assured the woman before turning and heading out the door.

"You should not allow the commoners to speak to you like that," Sir Matthew hissed as they made their way to the East Wing of the Castle, where Gwen was.

"She had valid concerns. And now I know an approximate deadline," Arthur stated, not bothering to look at the man. He wondered how his father would react to having Arthur punch one of the council members. It probably wouldn't be pretty. But if this man undermined Arthur's authority one more time-

"I voiced concerns," Sir Matthew grumbled. That's it. Arthur was finished dealing with this man. He had to exercise a lot of self-control to keep from shouting.

"But you offered no reason as to why Merlin shouldn't be in charge of the research. You only stated that he was a servant," Arthur spat. He would have sent Sir Matthew to meet Queen Lucinda and kept Sir Lucas, except Sir Lucas was much better at social interactions. Sir Timothy was also more prone to listen to the man. Sir Matthew had all the charm and elegance of a bull. That wasn't the personality one would want to represent Camelot with. Arthur continued his tongue-lashing.

"Had you made a better argument, I would be more inclined to listen to you. But instead, you challenged my authority and gave me no grounds to relieve Merlin of his position. One more word out of you, Sir Knight, and you will be removed from your post until I see fit," Arthur said, trying to sound authoritative. He hoped it hadn't come out cruel and tyrannical. It did, however, get Sir Matthew to be quiet. Not a word was shared between the men as they came to the entrance of the East Wing.

Now this had the level of noise Arthur expected. Some children were running around, some were crying, some were yelling, and some were just sitting in a corner silently. Gwen didn't have nearly the number of women that Morgana had. Arthur did this because he figured older children were not in need of constant care. Also, with such a large age range, the older children would help Gwen. After seeing the sight, Arthur wondered if he had perhaps placed to much on her.

"Sire!" a familiar voice called from behind him. Arthur and Sir Matthew turned to see Gwen and several other women carrying blankets.

"I wanted to know how things were going!" Arthur shouted over the screaming. Gwen turned to give orders to the women.

"Let's go somewhere a bit quieter!" Gwen shouted as she made her way into an empty guest room. Arthur looked around and realized that the room had been transformed. Several pillows and blankets were spread throughout the room, as makeshift beds. This was probably where some of the children were going to sleep tonight. Gwen closed the door, cutting off some of the noise.

"What do you need, sire?" she asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I wanted to know how things were going," Arthur repeated. Gwen sighed.

"A lot of the children are scared. The ones who can understand what's going on are frightened that Camelot will be attacked. Some of the younger ones are afraid their parents have abandoned them," Gwen explained sadly.

"Do you have any idea as to how to calm them?" Sir Matthew asked. Arthur was pleased to hear his voice wasn't as demanding as before.

"Some of the women suggested making the kids work. Those that are old enough have jobs. By sending them to do their work, we might be able to distract them for a short while," Gwen explained.

"Good idea," Arthur said. "If you are in need of any more help, I can see if Morgana has people to spare."

"That won't be necessary. We have a pretty good handle on things. It is just a matter of calming the children and deciding how to best allow them to do continue their employment," Gwen explained.

"I'm sure you'll come up with something. If you are in need of any assistance, come to me straight away," Arthur said. The door opened to reveal a young girl of around nine or ten.

"M'lady, we have begun to separate the children so that they are more manageable in the smaller groups," she explained, keeping her eyes averted from the prince.

"Thank you, Mary," Gwen smiled. "Duty calls," she said as she exited the room out into the screaming chaos. Arthur felt a twinge of guilt for leaving Gwen with such a hard job. However, it was necessary if he wanted to keep the children safe. Now all he had to do was make sure Merlin was getting along and then he would be done.

"Now, we need to narrow done what the curse is. The first step will be to find all of the aging spells in this library. When you find something that changes the age of a person, write down the name of it, the book title, and the page number. Marcus will come around and collect your papers when they are full," Merlin said. The men nodded and began to sift through the piles of books.

"I don't know how we're going to do it," Lord Henry said as he sat down next to Merlin. They were planning on trying to figure out some of the symptoms of the curse so that they could narrow down the list even further when the others were done. Merlin looked around at the men. There were only about thirty or forty in the library. There was over a hundred spell books, each of those holding thousands of spells. It would be a miracle if they ever got through them all.

"We'll have to try," Merlin responded the butcher came down the stairs and straight over to Merlin.

"It only is affecting this city," he stated. Merlin had sent him to an outlying village to see if the curse had spread beyond the walls of the citadel. The closest town was a farm village, only about four miles from the city.

"That's good," Merlin sighed. "Pick up a book and start looking for any spells involving the aging process," he said. The butcher nodded and began sifting through a particularly large volume.

"What do we know about this?" Lord Henry asked.

"It appears to only be affecting Camelot," Merlin said. Lord Henry nodded and wrote down what Merlin said.

"It has affected a great deal of people," Lord Henry murmured, adding that too the list.

"Something that is this widespread probably isn't a simple spell. It needs to be cast over a large area," Merlin added. Marcus was called over by one of the men who had filled a piece of paper with spells.

"Everyone affected is around six months of age," Lord Henry stated.

"So it's not just de-aging people a few years, leaving everyone at different points in their lives. It's causing them all to change into very specific ages," Merlin said. Lord Henry nodded yes.

"What else do we know?" he said, after finishing writing down the information.

"That's about it," Merlin said dejectedly. They knew three things. That was it. It might be enough to narrow down the list, though Merlin highly doubted it. Lord Henry sighed and slumped back in his chair.

"I guess we should get started reading through the books," he said, reaching over and picking up a particularly dusty volume.

"What about the ages of those affected?" Marcus said, setting some papers next to Merlin.

"They're all six months of age," Merlin replied as he flipped through the spell book.

"No, they're all old!" Marcus said. Merlin and Lord Henry sat up straighter and looked at the boy.

"What do you mean?" Lord Henry asked.

"Well there are no old people who weren't turned into babies," Marcus answered excitedly. He had seen something none of the grown-ups had. This made him happy.

"Everyone who is still their normal age is younger. You said, Lord Merlin, that only the youngest members of the council remained." Merlin blushed at his title, but sat up and wrote down what Marcus had said.

"Lord Henry," Merlin said, turning to the young lord, "go and try and find the oldest person who is still their normal age." Lord Henry nodded and quickly left the door. If the curse was age specific, then it would narrow down the list even more.

"Good job, Marcus," Merlin said fondly. Marcus beamed before running over to another man and taking his full sheet of paper. _Looks like the kid was useful after all. _Merlin thought as he continued to scan the book for any mentions of age changes.

After about another half-hour, Arthur came through the door, followed closely by Sir Matthew. Merlin looked up to see Arthur looking tired and haggard. He was really having a rough time trying to run a kingdom that was in complete chaos. Before Arthur could speak, Merlin stood up and walked over to Sir Matthew.

"How old are you?" he asked the startled knight.

"24, why?" Sir Matthew said, taken aback by the abrupt question.

"We may have a lead to one of the symptoms. Lord Henry is checking it out now," Merlin stated as he made his way back to the book and continued to flip through it.

"How are you getting along?" Arthur asked.

"I've never read so much in one sitting," Merlin complained.

"Always complaining, aren't you?" Arthur chuckled before looking around the room. Every man was completely engrossed in the books they were reading. Young Marcus was running between them, picking up pieces of paper and bringing them to a pile by Merlin.

"When do you think you'll find a cure?" Arthur asked. He felt bad for breaking Merlin's concentration, but he needed to know how long he was going to have to deal with this.

"We should finish going through the books today. Tomorrow we'll be able to narrow down the spells and hopefully find out the cause and the cure," Merlin said, not even looking up at the prince.

"Carry on," Arthur said as he left the room, running right into Lord Henry.

"Sorry, sire," he panted. He didn't stay to chat with Arthur as he ran towards Merlin and panted out "25."

"That's the oldest one?" Merlin asked.

"Yes, that is the oldest anyone is," Lord Henry responded.

"Your lead?" Arthur asked.

"Yep. Looks like the curse is only affecting people who are over 25," Merlin stated, writing the information down on a piece of paper in front of him.

"Good work," Arthur stated before leaving Merlin to his work. He planned on continuing to improve the guard and patrol schedules so that his men wouldn't be too worn out. He also wanted to plan work schedules for the children.

"Sir Matthew, you are to report to the front gates with Sir Galahad and relieve the guards," Arthur said. Sir Matthew bowed before taking off in the direction of the front gates. Arthur made his way back to his chambers and began to draft his schedules.

Several hours had passed. It was now dark outside and Arthur decided to see how everyone was doing. Sir Matthew gave Arthur the details for the night guards. He relieved Sir Matthew of his duties and placed Sir Patrick in charge of the night guard, since he was normally in charge of it. Morgana had explained to Arthur the sleeping schedules of the women, and how each of the babies had been put down.

"Hopefully it'll be a quiet night," she said, bending down to adjust the blanket of one of the children. Gwen was already asleep when Arthur got to the East Wing, but one of the maids explained to him their own schedule. Three women would patrol the corridors at any one time. This would ensure the children were all sleeping, and they would be able to react quickly to any nightmares that would certainly come in the night. Arthur was proud of his people. They were all handling the situation marvelously. He hoped that by tomorrow, Merlin would have an answer and things could go back to normal. Speaking of Merlin, Arthur needed to make sure the idiot was going to bed and not staying up all night trying to find a solution. A quick check in Gaius' chambers proved his suspicions correct.

Arthur opened the doors to the library to see it completely empty, except for Merlin. Merlin was busy reading a large volume of text by the light of a single candle. Arthur sighed. The fool would ruin his eyes that way. He decided to make his presence known.

"Where is everyone?" Merlin jumped at the sound of Arthur's voice.

"I sent them home to rest," Merlin said quietly.

"And what about you?" Arthur chided. He knew Merlin wasn't going to leave without a fight.

"I'm fine," Merlin mumbled. Arthur walked over to look at the book Merlin was reading.

"Are you going to find the answer to our problems in 'The Mysterious Case of the Bouncing Pink Goose'?" Arthur asked.

"That would be why there's no mention of sleeping spells," Merlin groaned. His eyes flashed gold causing the book to float back to the shelf.

"You could always stand up and put the book away," Arthur said.

"I can't feel my arms," Merlin mumbled as he yawned. Arthur laughed quietly.

"You need to rest. You aren't doing any good making yourself stay up this late," Arthur said softly.

"You're up this late," Merlin retorted as Arthur grabbed his arm and lifted Merlin to his feet, leading him out the door.

"I was just doing one last check up before going to bed," Arthur said. As a testament to how tired Merlin was, the man didn't even protest as Arthur led him through the corridor and back up to his chambers.

"I'm fine," Merlin said, yawning again.

"Then were are we?"

"The library," came a sleepy reply.

"Try my chambers," Arthur chuckled.

"When'd that happen?" Merlin asked, looking around the prince's room.

"Go to sleep, Merlin," Arthur commanded. Merlin went into the antechamber and was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Arthur got dressed for bed before quickly falling asleep as well. It appeared that Merlin had made his way through most of the texts. Perhaps tomorrow, an answer would come.

**Nice little fluffy bit at the end for you guys. I hope the situation is being handled pretty realistically. Ah well, can't do too much about it now. See you all next week.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I am really happy with the response this story has gotten. I'm glad you all are enjoying. Have a wonderful week everyone.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.**

_Arthur got dressed for bed before quickly falling asleep as well. It appeared that Merlin had made his way through most of the texts. Perhaps tomorrow, an answer would come._

"Rise and shine!" Merlin's annoying voice rang out through the prince's chambers. Arthur groaned and attempted to pull the blankets over his head. He heard Merlin whisper some words and before Arthur could do anything, the blankets were quickly pulled off the bed and flung across the room by an invisible hand.

"Merlin, why do you insist on torturing me?" Arthur whined as he sat up to see the young warlock folding the blanket he had previously taken from Arthur.

"You get what you deserve," Merlin replied with one of his annoying smiles. Arthur just glared at him. He had had a horrible night. He kept having nightmares that he failed in finding a cure, but Merlin used magic to age everyone mentally. This led to his father still ruling the kingdom, despite the fact that he was still in diapers. The image of a baby Uther on the throne, ruling the kingdom with a high-pitched voice, was too much for Arthur's psyche to take. The nightmares didn't stop there though. He also dreamed that the Great Dragon had decided to steal his bed and wouldn't give it back. Arthur chose to pay less attention to that one.

"Shall I get your breakfast?" Merlin asked as he relit the fire with a flash of gold in his irises.

"No, I'll get another servant to do it. Go back to the library and find me a cure," Arthur yawned. He made his way over to the wardrobe and began to dress himself.

"Nobody should have to deal with you in the morning though," Merlin said cheerfully.

"Just do your job," Arthur grumbled, Merlin fixed his collar before bowing mockingly and leaving the room. Another reason Arthur wanted Merlin to start his work right away was to show Sir Matthew that Merlin really was capable. If he was seen doing servant's duties before the situation was resolved, Sir Matthew would probably take it to mean that Merlin had disappointed Arthur. Arthur sat there at the table, thinking about his kingdom, Sir Matthew, and how he was so ready for this whole thing to be over. An unnamed servant walked through the door with Arthur's breakfast. Time to start the day.

Arthur walked out to the training grounds to see Sir Matthew leading the exercises. He hoped the knight had a report for him. Arthur really didn't want to try and find Sir Patrick to see how the night watch had gone. Since the warning bells hadn't rung during the night, Arthur took that as a good sign. It was also a good sign that his kingdom wasn't currently being burned to the ground. Angry peasants were scary as hell.

"Sir Matthew!" Arthur called out to the man. Sir Matthew looked up to see the prince walking towards him. He called out for another knight to start leading the training before jogging up to Arthur.

"Sire," he greeted. Arthur was pleased that it wasn't a cold greeting. Perhaps Sir Matthew was the kind of man who didn't adjust to change very well. Arthur smiled and began his questioning.

"Is all well?" he asked.

"Sir Patrick informed me that the night was relatively quiet. Very few people were out late and there weren't any major disturbances," Sir Matthew reported.

"And how about the schedule for today?" Arthur questioned.

"The men have been informed when and where they should report for duty. The civilian volunteers are doing fairly well in their rolls. They haven't been given anything to demanding but they are all fairly competent," he answered.

"Good. Continue with the training. I will be back later to see how the patrols are fairing," Arthur said before turning from the knight and making his way to the throne room.

Inside the room was a bit more chaotic than the last visit Arthur had. It appeared that most of the babies were awake and not happy about the morning. Women were frantically running around, trying to feed all of the children. Arthur wished he had more people to spare. If Merlin took much longer with the cure, Arthur might have to start recruiting some males to help Morgana.

"Is there anything you need?" Arthur turned to see the young maid from yesterday looking at him.

"The Lady Morgana," Arthur stated. The maid nodded before running to one end of the room and fetching Morgana.

"Are you alright?" Arthur asked worriedly. It appeared that Morgana didn't get very much sleep last night. Her hair wasn't brushed, she was still wearing the same dress, and she had dark circles under her eyes.

"There was an incident last night. One of the babies woke up screaming, which then woke the others up as well," Morgana explained, bending down to pick up a child laying near her feet.

"Is this too much for you?" Arthur said.

"No, I can handle it. We all can," Morgana stated.

"I'm glad. Merlin should be able to find a cure sometime today," Arthur replied. He hoped it wasn't an empty promise.

"That's excellent!" Morgana said, her face brightening up considerably. "I knew you made the right choice with Merlin," she added. Arthur wondered if she knew about Sir Matthew's concerns. He didn't press the issue though.

"I'll leave you to your work," Arthur said with a smile. Morgana waved goodbye before turning and giving orders to one of the women. Arthur stepped out of the throne room and into the hallway. Merlin needed to find a cure soon.

The East Wing was much quieter than the day before. There were still some children running around, but the noise level was much easier to manage. Arthur quickly spotted Gwen and made his way over to her.

"Sire," she smiled. Unlike Morgana, Gwen seemed to have received a decent nights sleep. Her wing also wasn't in utter chaos.

"It's quiet here," Arthur joked. Gwen smiled and nodded her head.

"We've managed to get the majority of the children to their jobs. Most of the older ones can supervise the younger ones. The children that aren't employed are listening to a story right now," Gwen explained. That would account for the lower noise level, there was less children to make noise.

"I'm glad you sorted that out," Arthur said.

"I've sent some of the women over to help Morgana. She'll need more assistance now that we have fewer children to watch over," Gwen said.

"Good. I was just over there. It was complete chaos," Arthur replied.

"Do you know how close Merlin is to finding a solution?" Gwen asked.

"He's made his way through the texts. Now, they're narrowing down the possibilities. It should be sometime today or tomorrow," Arthur stated.

"That's wonderful, sire," Gwen exclaimed, a large smile breaking out on her face.

"Yes, it is. I'll let you get back to your work," Arthur said, waving goodbye and leaving the corridor.

The next few hours were not as stressful as Arthur had imagined they would be. He decided not to bother Merlin, since he needed to focus all of his attention on finding a solution. If Merlin found something, he would send for Arthur. So, since Arthur didn't have to check up on anyone, he spent the remainder of the morning out with his knights. He could tell his men were tired for pulling double shifts. He was glad that no one was complaining, at least, not to the prince's face. All in all, everything appeared to be running smoothly in Camelot.

At around noon Arthur made his ways up to his chambers to eat lunch. He was getting worried that Merlin hadn't sent word about his progress. Arthur knew that Merlin had to get through a few hundred spells, but still, shouldn't he have some news. He chewed on his food, trying to push thoughts of failure from his mind. About fifteen minutes later, Marcus came bursting through the door. He bowed clumsily before standing up straight and racing to where Arthur was sitting.

"Lord Merlin wants to see you immediately," he said. Arthur smiled at the fact that Marcus had called Merlin a lord. He wondered if Merlin liked the new title. Either way, Arthur could now tease Merlin in a new manner. He stood up, dismissed the servant, and followed Marcus down to the library.

Arthur was feeling much happier. The fact that it was only noon was excellent. Perhaps everyone would be back to normal in time for dinner. It would give Arthur time to fill his father in on what was going on, find the sorcerer that had cast the spell, and actually get a good nights sleep. The sun was definitely brighter than before. Arthur stepped down into the library, Merlin's voice made his heart drop.

"We'll have to kill one of them to test that theory!" Merlin cried.

"We're all out of options," Lord Henry responded.

"What's going on?" Arthur asked, making his presence known. All thirty men looked up at the prince, most bowed upon realizing who it was. Arthur looked at the table in front of Merlin. Spread in front of him were three large books, all opened.

"We have good news and we have bad news," Lord Henry informed Arthur.

"The good news is, we've narrowed down the curse to three possible causes," Merlin stated.

"Well that's excellent. Why do you look so grim?" Arthur asked.

"Because we can't narrow down the list any further," Lord Henry explained. Arthur sighed and attempted not to show fear.

"We would test them all, but they all have bad side affects if incorrect," Merlin said. "This one turns the patients hair pink if incorrect. This one causes them to speak in rhyme for five years. And this one makes them turn into a donkey at midnight," Merlin explained.

"None of them are life threatening, but we'd rather not have a king with pink hair," Lord Henry rationalized, trying to hold back a smile.

"Or one that's an ass," Merlin snorted quietly. Arthur couldn't be too angry with their amusement. After all, the side affects were kind of funny to visualize. However, they did need to focus. Especially since they were at a dead-end.

"And there is no way to narrow it down any more?" Arthur clarified. Merlin and Lord Henry nodded.

"We're not that desperate to try out all three yet, so keep looking for any way to figure out which one it is," Arthur said. He was about to turn and leave when Sir Timothy came bursting into the room, panting and covered in sweat. Arthur groaned. There was only one reason why the young knight would be back in Camelot.

"We tried, sire," Sir Timothy gasped. Merlin gave him a chair to collapse on.

"How long do we have?" Arthur asked, hoping Sir Timothy and Sir Lucas managed to buy him enough time.

"Nine tomorrow morning. Sir Lucas may be able to keep the queen until noon, but that's going to be difficult," Sir Timothy said. "She already suspects us of stalling her."

"Lord Henry, alert Sir Matthew to rework the training and guard schedules. I want only trained soldiers and knights to be in uniform tomorrow. The other men are to return to their businesses and continue as if nothing is wrong.

"I also want the Lady Morgana to begin moving the babies to the East Wing and for Guinevere to figure out which children still have parents so that they may stay with them," Arthur commanded. Lord Henry nodded and made his way out of the room to carry out his orders.

"Merlin, you and I are going to Gaius' chambers. The rest of you are to stay here and find anything that might help us choose an antidote." With that, Arthur turned on his heels and left, followed closely by Merlin. Once they were far enough away, Merlin spoke.

"There's a spell that will allow me to undo the curse," Merlin whispered to Arthur.

"Will they be aware you are performing magic?" Arthur asked. Merlin bit his lip.

"You won't do it," Arthur stated.

"We need to fix this." Arthur stopped and turned to Merlin.

"This is not a threat to my safety or anyone else's as of this moment. Until that happens, you are not to perform magic to reverse anything."

"But-"

"But nothing, Merlin. There is still a chance we can fix this. We have over fifteen hours to find a cure."

"But the treaty-"

"Can be renegotiated if necessary. You cannot be brought back from the dead and I will not allow you to be burned for saving us," Arthur stated before turning and starting back towards the physician's chambers.

"You have until seven tomorrow morning," Merlin said. Arthur pretended he didn't hear it. He would lock Merlin down with the stupid dragon if that's what it took to keep him from doing magic. The pair stepped out into the courtyard when a voice shouted.

"Sire!" Arthur and Merlin turned and gasped.

"Leon?" Arthur asked as the curly-haired knight came jogging up to the prince. He coughed violently before straightening back up. Leon looked worse than Morgana. He was pale, sweating, had dark circles under his eyes, and his nose was running.

"I am so sorry about my absence yesterday. I was too sick to get out of bed," Leon explained as he sneezed into his sleeve. Merlin and Arthur just stared at him. "This cough is absolutely awful, and yesterday I was so nauseous, I couldn't eat anything," Leon said as he wiped his nose and coughed again. Merlin and Arthur continued to stare at the man. Finally, Leon had enough and decided to get some answers.

"I know we are a little short staffed for guards, but why is the cobbler watching the castle blueprints?" Leon asked, his eyebrows raised. Arthur continued to gape at him while Merlin walked up and began circling the man.

"Why you?" he muttered to himself, picking up Leon's wrist and taking his pulse.

"Excuse me?" Leon asked, a little taken aback by Merlin's strange behavior. Merlin began poking Leon's sides and muttering incoherently to himself.

"Leon, how old are you?" Arthur asked. Leon stared at Arthur for a few seconds before answering.

"26, why?"

"But Sir Ethan in 26, so is Margret," Merlin murmured.

"Maybe he's immune?" Arthur proposed.

"Immune to what?" Leon asked. He was really confused about what these two were discussing. Turns out, bringing up the cobbler only gave Leon more questions, rather than answering the ones he already had.

"But why aren't there any others?" Merlin asked, turning to Arthur. By this time, Leon had had enough.

"Look, guys, I understand you have your own language, but for those of us who don't speak 'Arthur and Merlin' we'd like some explanation," Leon said, going into another coughing fit.

"We'll talk in Gaius' chambers," Arthur said before continuing to walk. Merlin stared at Leon a little longer before following his master. Leon sighed and followed the two. He should just move to Mercia. There were less headaches involved.

The trio stepped into Gaius' chambers. Merlin and Arthur had talked quietly to each other the entire way there, much to Leon's displeasure. He was confused as to why so many things were out of place in Camelot. He was sick, but he wasn't sick enough to be hallucinating. At least, he didn't think he was sick enough to hallucinate. Leon did understand that Arthur and Merlin had a special way of doing things. He understood that in order to get information out of the two, you had to be patient. Luckily, Leon was the master of patience. After a few minutes in Gaius' chambers, Arthur turned to Leon.

"Camelot has been cursed." He then went on to explain what had happened the last 36 hours and how Merlin had narrowed down the possible curses too three causes.

"So you see, Leon," Merlin said after Arthur was done with the explanation, "you're the key to solving this puzzle. If we figure out why you seem to be immune, we can see which spell or potion caused this whole mess."

"What about the sorcerer?" Leon asked.

"I have men scouring the town, but I doubt we'll find anything. He's too clever to get caught," Arthur replied. Leon nodded his understanding. Years of serving under Uther had taught him how fruitless these searches were. Most sorcerers who attacked Camelot were powerful enough to remain hidden. Still, it helped keep the people's faith and show them that the King was not idle when it came to these problems.

"Maybe it's because I'm sick," Leon suggested, eager to figure out what caused his immunity. Merlin shook his head.

"Sir Ethan was also sick. I helped make the medicine for you and him," Merlin stated. "And you both had the same disease so it's not that."

"And I'm sure you're not the only person in the entire city that has a cold," Arthur added as Leon sneezed again.

"Then I don't know why I'm so special," Leon stated.

"I don't know either," Arthur agreed. The three men just sat there, staring at the ground in silence when Merlin spoke.

"Well, what did you do the day before this all happened?"

"What do you mean?" Leon asked.

"Well, everyone was discovered in the morning, which means that the transformation happened sometime during the night. Perhaps it was a potion that you didn't ingest," Merlin replied.

"But the probability of getting _everyone _over the age of 25 to drink the potion is very low," Arthur stated.

"Let's just see what Leon did and go from there," Merlin said calmly. Leon nodded and began to recount his day.

"I was out on patrol in the morning. I wasn't feeling well, nor was Sir Ethan. I decided to let Arthur know that I wasn't able to train the following day as I wished to stay in bed and recover.

"We were walking through the lower town-" Leon stopped suddenly. Merlin and Arthur looked up.

"What is it?" Arthur asked urgently.  
"I knew there was something wrong with that woman," Leon murmured to himself.

"What woman?" Merlin asked. Leon turned grim and explained.

"When Sir Ethan and I were walking through the lower town, there was a vendor selling some sort of miracle tea."

"Tea?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, some sort of cure-all thing. I didn't buy any, but Sir Ethan did," Leon explained.

"It must have been the tea!" Merlin exclaimed.

"But that doesn't explain how everyone except for Leon got some," Arthur snapped.

"I think I might, sire," Leon stated. "You see, I don't buy any 'miracle formula' from vendors. A nasty incident left me bed ridden for a day."

"What happened?" Merlin asked, curious as to why Leon was so against cure-all potions.

"Gaius didn't want to know the details."

"Then we don't either," Merlin said quickly. "Continue."

"Despite me firmly being against these potions, I had to fight to keep from buying one. It was almost as if it were calling to me, telling me how great I would feel. I thought it was my imagination, but now I'm not so sure," Leon finished.

"So if the tea was enchanted to attracted everyone who was 26 years of age and older, it would get most of Camelot's population," Arthur said thoughtfully.

"Gaius is always doing rounds in the lower town," Merlin explained.

"And my father had to pass through there to get to that gate that was damaged last spring," Arthur said. The men sat there for a few more minutes before Merlin groaned.

"What is it?" Arthur and Leon asked.

"It sounds like an attraction potion," Merlin explained.

"What is that?" Arthur questioned.

"An attraction potion is something that is designed to specifically attract a certain type of person, like alcoholics or red-heads. It can be as specific or as general as the brewer wants," Merlin stated.

"Why is that a bad thing?" Leon asked. There must have been a reason why Merlin was so distraught.

"Because, the fact that it was a potion means only two possible antidotes remain. However, I would need the potion to determine which one."

"So, just find the tea," Arthur snapped.

"That's the problem. Attraction potions are meant to be consumed until nothing is left. And I doubt our sorceress left any behind," Merlin responded.

"So, we're back to square one," Arthur said, slumping back in his seat.

"Maybe not," Leon said, looking thoughtful. "If Sir Ethan had the same illness I did, that means he was nauseous," Leon began.

"And if he was nauseous, he might not have drunk all the tea," Merlin finished with a smile.

"Let's go to Sir Ethan's room and search it," Arthur said, standing up and making his way out the door, followed by Merlin and Leon.

They were walking quickly across the courtyard when the young maid from Morgana's group spotted them and made here way to the men, a baby in her arms. Leon turned and began coughing violently again. Arthur grimaced, Leon was incredibly sick.

"Sire, have you any news?" she asked with a curtsey.

"We are close to finding the cure," Arthur stated, smiling at the woman.

"That's excellent my lord," she said.

"We just need to tie up a few loose ends and we should have the antidote," Merlin stated happily as they continued to Sir Ethan's chambers. Leon gave a half-hearted wave, not even bothering to stand up as he struggled to keep up with Arthur and Merlin.

"Then I will not delay you any longer," the maid said, walking back towards the throne room.

The group entered Sir Ethan's chambers and immediately began to search it. Cupboards were opened, drawers were emptied, stacks of papers were sifted through. After several minutes Arthur became frustrated. Maybe Leon was wrong and Sir Ethan had drunk all of the tea. This was their last chance to set things right. Arthur was about to recheck a wardrobe when he noticed Leon standing in the middle of the room breathing heavily.

"Is everything alright?" Arthur asked. Leon shook his head.

"It's in here somewhere. I can hear it calling me," Leon explained.

"Do you know where it's coming from?" Merlin asked, stepping next to Leon and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Somewhere over there," Leon said, pointing towards a corner of the room. Arthur went over and quickly found a small wooden chest underneath a bench. He pulled it out and opened it up. After a few minutes of sifting, Arthur pulled out a little bag of dried herbs. He brought it to Leon.

"Is this it?" he asked the knight. Leon nodded yes. Arthur quickly pocketed the tea and exited the chambers.

"It's so much more intoxicating than before," Leon gasped as Merlin tried to keep the man's distance from the dried potion.

"Will you be able to tell what's in it?" Arthur asked Merlin.

"Since it's dried herbs, it shouldn't be a problem," Merlin answered.

"I'll let Sir Matthew and Lord Henry know you are working on a solution. Leon, you come with me. I need you as far from that as possible," Arthur said. Leon nodded and followed Arthur so they could find the two council members. Merlin made his way back to Gaius' chambers.

He entered in the small space and immediately began working on separating the herbs into small piles. As the sun began to set, Merlin's back began to cramp. He had been hunched over the physician's table for the past few hours. No wonder Gaius hobbled and needed glasses. Merlin's eyes were straining trying to get a better look at the herbs. Luckily, he only needed to identify about half of the ingredients in order to figure out which antidote to use. Another hour passed and a knock was heard throughout the room.

"Come in," Merlin said, looking up to see Marcus entering the room quietly.

"The prince wants to know if you've figured it out yet," Marcus said.

"Almost, give me a few more minutes," Merlin said. Marcus nodded and sat across the table from Merlin, taking his cloak off and setting it down next to him. He really wanted to ask questions but he knew Merlin needed a lot of concentration if he were to finish the task. So, he sat quietly, waiting for him to finish. About ten minutes later Merlin sighed and sat back. Marcus looked up and waited a few seconds. Merlin bent over, scribbled something on the paper and looked at Marcus.

"Here's the name of the antidote. Go to the kitchens and tell them to be prepared to start concocting it. And then go to Lord Henry and tell him to find the instructions to prepare it. We're going to need to mass produce it as quickly as possible if it is to be on time," Merlin stated. Marcus nodded, took the paper from Merlin's hand, and left quickly. After Marcus had left, Merlin turned to the empty room.

"I know you're there. Come out and face me," Merlin said coldly. The maid from before stepped out of the shadows and into the light.

"Hello, Merlin. I'm going to enjoy destroying you," she stated with a smile.

**Another cliffhanger! I love torturing my readers. I'm not sure how old Leon is supposed to be, so I put him at 26. Thanks for reading. See you all next week.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Alrighty everyone. This is the final chapter of the story. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed. I hope you enjoy the final chapter. Have a great week.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.**

_"Hello, Merlin. I'm going to enjoy destroying you," she stated with a smile._

Merlin stood up to face the sorceress. She laughed. How easy it would be to break him. He was just like all the others, weak and pathetic. She had power beyond his wildest imagination. He could be crushed like a bug. When the servant was gone, the maiden would finish what she started. She could build a new Camelot where nonmagical beings, such as this pathetic excuse for a human being, would be slaves to the magical people that had a right to rule.

"Why did you do it?" Merlin asked her. He attempted to keep his voice steady and calm. He wasn't really afraid of fighting the girl, but his heart still ached that another person would be solidifying Uther's argument that magic was evil. Merlin was lucky that Arthur had become fairly accepting of Merlin. But he still wondered if every attack they faced made his friend lose faith that Merlin would remain loyal to Camelot, to Arthur. Merlin was drawn out of his thoughts as the woman began to speak.

"Because, what better way to get rid of over half of the population. I took away most of the army and council. I thought Camelot would fall faster. Looks like the young prince isn't as incompetent as I believed," she laughed. It was merciless, cruel, and cold. Merlin shivered but continued his questioning. This woman was completely crazy. What luck.

"Wouldn't it just be easier to kill everyone?" he asked.

"It would, but death is permanent. I needed a distraction," she explained, her smile growing to show most of her teeth. Was it even possible for her lips to stretch that wide? She looked like a frog. Merlin almost smiled at the thought but quickly put back on a straight face. He _did not_ need this woman thinking he was mocking her.

"And by not killing everyone, you ensured that Arthur's focus would be spread thin," Merlin added. The sorceress nodded.

"He would struggle to find a cure, and the citizens wouldn't call for blood. If everyone were dead, it would just make the citizens angry with the magic user, not at the prince. The longer it takes for our dear prince to find a cure, the more likely the peasants are to turn on him," she finished with glee. Merlin began preparing some spells in the back of his mind. Arthur would later help him to come up with excuses as to how an unarmed servant had defeated a powerful sorceress.

"I was going to give Camelot a few more days to descend into chaos. Then, when Arthur was weak and scared, I would come in and attack. It would be an easy battle, not a lot of deaths," she continued to explained, oblivious to what Merlin was planning.

"How thoughtful," Merlin responded with a roll of his eyes. The sorceress' smile dropped.

"Do you know how easy it is to blend in when you're a servant? I must have served almost every knight I sold my special brew too, but nobody recognized me. We are paid to be invisible," she said bitterly.

"So you're taking over Camelot because you were good at your job?" Merlin asked, confused as to why this lady would even bring up this point. The woman sputtered before taking a deep breath and continuing to speak.

"It really helps when you're trying to overthrow a government. Nobody thinks twice about the help. You wouldn't believe the secrets I know," she continued, her smile being placed back on her face. Merlin liked it better when she was frowning. Now, the woman just looked maniacal.

"What are you going to do to me?" Merlin asked, cursing his voice for shaking slightly.

"Let me explain," the lady said, motioning for Merlin to sit back down. Merlin crossed his arms and failed to comply.

"So the boy has a cure?" Sir Matthew asked. Arthur gritted his teeth but answered the knight nonetheless.

"Yes, _Merlin, _is in Gaius' chambers working on deconstructing the ingredients in the tea," Arthur said.

"That's great!" Lord Henry cried, a smile of relief spreading across his face.

"We'll go let the kitchens know to stand by and prepare to create the antidote," Leon said as he and Arthur left the council chambers.

"Lord Henry, you find the two cures and be prepared to write down the instructions," Arthur called as he and Leon exited the room.

"We will be in time for Queen Lucinda's arrival," Leon stated happily as the pair made their way down the hall.

"I'm glad you decided to get better. We may have had a king with pink hair," Arthur laughed. He then collided with something small and squishy. Thanks to Arthur's larger size, he was able to keep from falling over. However, he still did let out a very un-princely oomph. Arthur looked down to see Marcus sprawled on the ground, his breathing erratic and his eyes wide with fear.

"What is it?" Arthur said, kneeling down to help the boy up.

"Lord Merlin found a cure," Marcus started.

"That's great!" Leon said with a smile, the boy's face caused it to disappear quickly.

"I left to give this to Lord Henry, but I forgot my cloak. I went back to get it and I heard someone say they were going to destroy Lord Merlin!" Marcus cried out, starting to sob. Arthur and Leon looked at each other, both thinking the same thoughts.

"Go to the council chambers and do not leave until I or Sir Leon get you," Arthur said, pushing Marcus towards the doors.

"We need to go, now!" Leon said, not even looking at Arthur as he sprinted down the corridor. Arthur prayed that Merlin wouldn't use any magic when Leon got there. Leon liked Merlin, but his loyalty was to the king. He might think Arthur was enchanted if it was found that Merlin had magic. Arthur turned and sprinted after Leon, praying that his friend was still alive and his secret was still safe.

The two men skidded to a stop in front of the doors or Gaius' chambers. Arthur and Leon pressed an ear to the door and began to listen.

"Well I can't have people knowing what the cure is, can I?" a woman's voice called out. Arthur gasped, it was the maid who was helping Morgana. The very one who had voiced her concerns about the children's wellbeing.

"I sent the antidote with the boy. Killing me won't do you any good," Merlin's voice responded. Arthur was glad he wasn't shooting spells at the woman, yet.

"I know men like you, Merlin," the maid responded. Leon looked through the keyhole to see Merlin facing the door, and the sorceress with her back to them. He motioned for Arthur to look through the door as well.

"You see, you're all selfish people. You knew I was in the room, so you sent a fake note with the boy, thinking I would go after him. You want the glory and honor of presenting your finds to the council," she explained.

"What, you mean all three people who are left," Merlin snorted. Arthur rolled his eyes. Merlin obviously didn't grasp the concept of self-preservation. Anyone with half a brain would not be antagonizing this woman. Was the dragon absolutely sure that Merlin was the great warlock, Emrys? Because, if this continued, the druids would have to find a new leader soon.

"I know the hearts of men all too well. You cannot fool me. I know you didn't send the antidote with that boy. You're pathetic, trying to get me to attack a mere child," the woman scoffed. Her eyes flashed gold and the sheets off the bed shot up and twisted themselves around Merlin's neck. Merlin collapsed to his knees as he struggled to pry the sheet off of him. Arthur quickly saw Merlin drop to the ground and decided it was time to act. "In fact-" her words were cut short by a sword blossoming through her chest.

"Actually, Merlin did give us the antidote. You're plan has failed," Arthur growled. The maid fell to the ground, dead. The sheets quickly fell off of Merlin's neck. Merlin fell forward, being caught in time by Leon, and he gasped for air. Leon helped Merlin to the bench and handed him a glass of water.

"Thanks," Merlin rasped as he took a sip. Arthur pulled the sword from the woman and shook his head disapprovingly.

"Looks like I had to save your sorry ass, again," he chuckled.

"Well I wouldn't need saving if you and this damn kingdom didn't attract magic every other week," Merlin snapped back.

"It's your stupidity, _Mer_lin, that gets you into trouble. Don't blame this on me."

"Sire! Look out!" Leon cried as the maid stood up and started chanting. The sheets that had previously been trying to kill Merlin had now found their way around all three men's necks. Arthur looked up to see the woman's eyes fade from gold back to brown. He tried reaching from his sword, noticing Merlin was trying to form spells but no sounds were coming from his lips.

"You will die, Arthur Pendragon!" the maid shrieked as the sheets tightened their hold on the prince. How the hell was she not dead yet? Arthur clearly remembered stabbing her, through the chest, with a sword! Did she not get the memo? Arthur looked over at Merlin again, still seeing he was trying to do magic.

Merlin, for his part, wasn't doing much better. The sheets were continually tightening their hold on him, causing his vision to go fuzzy. Merlin tried to say a spell, only to discover his mouth was unable to produce anything other than a strangled gasp. He couldn't protect Arthur. He couldn't fulfill his destiny. Merlin closed his eyes and thought back to his first day in Camelot. Getting in a fight with Arthur, hearing the dragon's voice, seeing the execution, saving Gaius- Wait! Merlin didn't need to say a spell to do magic. He did it all instinctually. These weren't magic-restraining sheets, so it really shouldn't be a problem. Merlin cursed himself for taking this long to come to that conclusion. None-the-less, he dug deep into his magic reserves and prepared to blast the maid away.

The sorceress smiled. It was so much fun to see the men wither at her feet. This was a long and drawn out death, but she wasn't complaining. She was just about to say another spell when her feet left the ground and she was blasted back into the wall. The woman stayed awake long enough to notice the servant's eyes fade from the familiar gold back to blue. She chuckled heartlessly before closing her eyes. The boy would die when the prince found out. And with that, the sorceress was no more.

Leon panicked as he unwound the sheets from his neck before helping Merlin. The boy had clearly used magic. It would be hard to keep Arthur oblivious. Leon didn't know how he was going to describe this one to the young prince.

"Stupid cow, messed up on her own spell," Arthur said quickly. Leon breathed a sigh of relief. It looked as though Merlin's secret was safe after all. Arthur was thinking along the same lines. He had to keep Merlin safe at all costs. Luckily, Leon didn't press the issue and simply agreed with Arthur that the witch's spell had backfired. Although it did bother Arthur how easily Leon accepted the lie. Was everyone in Camelot an idiot? Arthur thought to himself. Still, Merlin was alive and not going to be facing the pyre any time real soon. That, Arthur could be sure of.

"Not so easy to get out of those sheets, is it?" Merlin mocked as he attempted to stand. He was still slightly dizzy from being strangled twice in a row.

"How was I supposed to know the stupid witch was still alive?" Arthur cried out, making his way up the stairs.

"You could have checked her pulse, or breathing, or, I don't know, stabbed her a second time!" Merlin called out, following Arthur out of the small chamber.

"Even in a crisis, those two," Leon muttered to himself before following. He found some guards and ordered them to remove the body from the physician's chambers. It had certainly been a long two days.

"Is everything prepared?" Arthur asked. Sir Matthew, Leon, and Lord Henry all nodded yes. Merlin just sat there, chewing on his lip.

"What _Mer_lin?" Arthur snapped.

"Well, these are babies."

"Yeah, so?"

"They're going to be turned back into full size adults."

"What's your point?"

"What are they going to wear?" Merlin asked. Arthur cursed under his breath. He hadn't thought about what would happen once everyone was back to their normal sizes. He shuddered to think about what Gaius looked like- no, don't finish that thought.

"I have an idea," Lord Henry said happily. "What if, we got sheets, covered the babies so that they would transform under them, and then have spare robes on the side for them to take."

"That's an excellent idea. We should do it," Leon said. Lord Henry beamed. Being one of the youngest council members, he often didn't get a say in anything.

"Alright, if you must," Arthur said, trying to sound annoyed. It probably sounded more like he was pouting. About an hour later, numerous sheets had been brought into the throne room, where all the babies were being held. Morgana had only managed to move about a third by the time the maid was defeated, so Arthur just told her to leave them all in the throne room. Everyone whose families were affected were told to bring a change of clothes so that the person wouldn't have to walk home in a sheet. The cook rolled out a large pot of, what Arthur assumed, was the antidote.

"Now, the babies only need a mouthful and then they will return to their normal age," Merlin explained as Morgana handed Arthur a cup before covering one baby with a blanket. Arthur stood there for several seconds, not doing anything.

"The baby has to actually ingest it for the potion to work," Merlin said, nudging Arthur forward.

"I can't do it," Arthur said.

"Why not?" Merlin cried out.

"What if you're wrong and this isn't the antidote?" Arthur asked, shoving the cup into Merlin's hands.

"We need to do this now. Queen Lucinda will be here soon," Merlin said as he shoved the cup back at Arthur.

"But why do I have to be the one to do it?" Arthur snapped, trying to put the cup in Merlin's hands again.

"Because you're the prince. That's why!" Merlin snapped back.

"Boys, perhaps we should speed this up," Leon said, breaking up the spat. Arthur glared at Merlin but bent down so that he was kneeling next to the baby.

"Here goes nothing," he said as he tipped the potion into the baby's mouth. The baby swallowed it before scrunching up his face. Then, a blinding white light glowed from the body. Arthur and the other's shielded their eyes and waited for the light to die down. When Arthur looked down, he began laughing. There, at his feet, was his father. With no pink hair to boot!

"Arthur," he said, opening up his eyes, "care to explain why I am naked in front of three council members, your servant, and Morgana?" Uther asked, glancing around the room. Merlin blushed and looked at his feet. "And why are there babies in the throne room?"

"No time to explain, father. Queen Lucinda will be here in an hour," Arthur stated happily, dragging his father up by the arm and leading him out of the throne room.

"But she's not meant to be here until Wednesday."

"It's a long story, sire. We'll explain it too you this evening," Lord Henry said apologetically.

"Sir Leon, you're in charge," Arthur called out.

"Let's get this over with," Leon said as Lord Henry and Morgana followed Uther and Arthur out of the chambers and into the corridor. Merlin picked up the next baby and made his way to Leon.

Arthur grimaced as more people made their way down the castle steps. There had been a string of people exiting the castle for almost the entire hour. Surely there couldn't be too many more people Leon and Merlin had to transform. Arthur was able to give his father a quick explanation as to what had happened. The more detailed one would have to come later. Arthur straightened up as he saw Sir Lucas riding swiftly through the gates, coming to a stop in front of the royals.

"She's here," he gasped as he swung off his horse and went to stand next to the other knights. He grinned upon seeing Sir Ethan and Sir Kay were back to their normal selves, as well as some others who had been affected.

A few minutes later, a large procession came thundering down the walkway and too a stop in front of Arthur and Uther. Uther stepped forward to the carriage as two servants opened the door to reveal a woman, around Uther's age, stepping out.

"I do not appreciate stalling tactics," she spat, stepping onto the ground and refusing Uther's hand. Arthur stepped forward.

"I apologize, that was my mistake. You see, my father decided that I should be the one to ensure your stay in Camelot was informative as well as enjoyable. I speculated that you might wish to visit our outlying villages to see if you could trust us as a trading partner.

"However, this idea came to me late. I can understand why you believe it was a stalling tactic. I can assure you I had no intentions of making you feel unwelcome. It was a mistake, one that I will learn from. I am truly sorry you had to be the one for which this lesson was learned from," Arthur finished bowing his head apologetically. The queen sat there, studying Arthur. She was trying to see if there were any detectable falsehoods with his statement. He appeared sincere.

"Smart boy," Queen Lucinda smiled. "Shall we discuss the trade agreement?" she asked as Uther led the way to the council chambers (Arthur didn't want the queen to see a bunch of babies in the throne room).

"I can't believe that worked," Arthur muttered to Sir Lucas before following his father.

"I couldn't come up with a better reason while we were touring," Sir Lucas confessed with an apologetic smile. Arthur laughed and patted his knight on the shoulder before continuing with the royal party.

The long day came to a close at around seven. Luckily, Queen Lucinda wasn't into feasts and retired fairly early. It was this reason that allowed Arthur and Morgana to explain what had happened the past two days. Morgana and Gwen had gasped upon hearing Merlin was attacked by the sorceress. Arthur had failed to mention that before. They also gasped when Arthur described how the sorceress came back to life and attacker him, Merlin, and Sir Leon. Uther, however, sat there silently, not once showing any emotion at the situation. Arthur drew the explanation to a close.

"The sorceress' body has been placed in a secure location and there appears to be no lasting damage," Arthur said. He waited for his father to say something.

"I'm impressed, most men would have crumbled under the pressure. But you were levelheaded and thought through your plans exceedingly well. Good job, Arthur," Uther stated after some silence. Arthur looked down to see his father smiling.

"Thank you, father," Arthur replied, returning the smile.

"You are almost ready to be king," Uther said, dismissing Arthur and Morgana for the evening.

"Looks like you didn't run Camelot into the ground," Morgana teased as they made their way back to their rooms.

"I'll have you know that I was completely in control the entire time," Arthur snapped back.

"Come on guys, it's way to late for this," Merlin groaned, not wanting to stay awake for much longer. He and Leon had spent two hours giving the antidote to every baby in the room. It didn't sound like a lot of work, but it was. Especially when halfway through, every baby decided to start screaming.

"Don't you have herbs to grind or a stable to muck out," Arthur stated.

"I just saved this kingdom, and you're not even going to give me a day off!" Merlin cried out. "I almost got killed for you!"

"Quit being such a girl, Merlin," Arthur said. Merlin shoved Arthur into the wall.

"You really want to start that?" Arthur asked as Merlin took off running down the hall. Arthur took off after him.

"I'll never understand those two," Morgana said, shaking her head.

"Just as long as Arthur doesn't actually burn the kingdom to the ground, we should be fine," Gwen replied, smiling as she and Morgana stepped into the lady's chambers. She didn't believe that Arthur could ever burn Camelot to the ground. Both he and Merlin proved to be an unstoppable team when called upon. Gwen had a feeling they would be called upon again. And she wasn't worried in the least.

Fin

**So it may have been a bit of a stretch to make Leon aware of Merlin's magic. But seriously, no one put together any of the clues? Thanks for reading and I hope you guys enjoyed this story. **


End file.
